The Art of Piano

For every enthusiast of piano music and those aspiring to become one!

This app tells the story of three centuries of piano music presented in eight landmark pieces. A selection of text, audio and video materials will help you enhance your perception of classical music.

The app features:
• 8 pieces of music performed by Peter Laul. High-quality audio recording, four interactive viewing angles and synchronized notation will allow you to grasp the most subtle nuances of performance.

• The pianist's verbal comments are available during the course of the performance. Learn first-hand about the history of the work, the composer, the peculiarities of the performance, and the pianist’s playing experience.

• A part-by-part analysis of the compositions. Thanks to a detailed analysis, which does not require any special musical education to grasp, you will be able to understand everything that is happening in the music.

• Stories about each composer and composition. These stories will help you understand what place each selected piece of music occupied in the composer’s life, as well as in the history of music and in culture.

• Interactive materials about the piano. Learn about the instrument and techniques for playing it.

All materials have been created exclusively for this app in partnership with the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia.

MUSIC LIST
Bach — Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878
Mozart — Turkish Rondo
Beethoven — Appassionata (1st mov.)
Schubert — Impromptu Op. 90, No. 4
Chopin — Scherzo No. 2
Liszt — Mephisto Waltz
Rachmaninoff — Etude-tableau Op. 39, No. 5
Scriabin — Sonata No. 4

ABOUT THE PIANIST
Peter Laul studied at the Middle Special Lyceum School of the St. Petersburg State Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in the class of Alexander Sandler, under whom he continued his studies and completed a post-graduate course at the St Petersburg State Conservatoire itself. Since 2002 he has taught a special piano class at the conservatoire and the lyceum school, and since 2015 he has been an assistant professor at the conservatoire.

Peter Laul has won prizes at the Bremen International Competition (Germany, 1995, 3rd prize and special prize for the best performance of a work by Bach; 1997, 1st prize and special prize for the best performance of a sonata by Schubert) and the Scriabin International Competition in Moscow (Russia, 2000, 1st prize).

The pianist regularly performs at the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Théatre du Châtelet in Paris, the Steinway Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Suntory Hall and Opera City Hall in Tokyo, the Brucknerhaus in Linz and the Sala Verdi in Milan. He has taken part in festivals in Colmar and Saint-Riquier (France), the Progetto Marta Argerich festival (Lugano), the Art-November festival (Moscow), the Printemps des Arts festival (Monaco), the Stars of the White Nights festival, the International Piano Festival and the Arts Square festival (St. Petersburg).